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Greetings, Hope that your summer is going great! We wanted to send you some information about the upcoming conferences of our partners and a huge victory in the labor movement! Victory at Smithfield! Five Thousand workers at the world's largest pork processing plant have their first-ever union contract, after a majority of workers ratified the agreement over a two-day vote. After a long struggle, with the support of allies such as Jobs with Justice and the Student Labor Action Project, workers were finally able to get a fair contract which includes: * Wage increases of $1.50/hour over the next four years. * Continued company-provided affordable family health care coverage. * Improved paid sick leave and vacation benefits. * Retirement security through protection of the existing pension plan. * Continued joint worker/management safety committee, including company funded safety training for workers. * Guaranteed weekly hours that protect full-time, family supporting jobs in the community * A system to resolve workplace issues. * Three working days of paid funeral leave following the death of immediate family members. For more information go to http://www.ufcw.org
Upcoming summer conferences USSA's National Student Congress Or Congress for short, is USSA's annual membership conference. Hosted by a different member campus each year, student representatives from across the country unite to discuss the pressing issues effecting higher education, and elect USSA's board, leadership, and national priorities for the following year. This year congress will take place from July 21st -26th in Boulder Co. For more information go to www.ussaconferences.org The Young Democratic Socialists Presents: Socialist Summer RetreatWhen: July 30-August 2, 2009 Join us for a weekend getaway of relaxation, outdoor fun, and movement building. The Socialist Summer Retreat will be held at the Valley Brook Inn retreat center in Wurtsboro, NY (an hour and a half northwest of New York City). This Summer Conference will focus on nuts and bolts organizing skills, skills needed to take advantage of this political moment and grow our organization and our movement. It will also be a good time to get away from it all and enjoy beautiful upstate New York in the good company of good comrades. We will go swimming, embarrass ourselves in pickup wiffleball and soccer games, make campfires, and party. We will hold workshops on how to plan a campaign, map out a year's worth of activism, start a chapter, and maintain a healthy one. Participants will also learn about democratic socialist theory and how to teach others about socialism. If you have any questions or comments please call the YDS National Office at 212 727 8610 or email us at yds@dsausa.org. United Students Against
Sweatshops Summer Retreat SAVE THE DATE! 2009 SFA Encuentro // September 10-13 // Immokalee, FL This September, approximately 100 students and youth from across the country will travel to Immokalee, FL—birthplace of the Campaign for Fair Food—for the Student/Farmworker Alliance's fifth annual Encuentro -- will YOU be there? Space is limited and filling up quickly; apply today at http://resources.sfalliance.org/09encuentro to make sure you have a spot! Following a season that brought two more campaign victories
(Subway
& Bon
Appétit) & the launch of SFA's national Dine with
Dignity campaign to hold Aramark, Compass and Sodexo
responsible for the conditions in which the food on our campuses
is produced, this year's Encuentro is set to be our most
important yet. Program Highlights include:
...& more! Space is limited, so apply today! An online application form is available at http://resources.sfalliance.org/09encuentro. For more information about this year's Encuentro, & to check out reports from Encuentros past, visit http://www.sfalliance.org/2009encuentro.html. Contact us at organize@sfalliance.org with any questions. See you in Immokalee! |
